Merling, a second-round draft pick in 2008, was arrested Wednesday in Weston, according to police records. He is facing one count of aggravated battery on a victim he should have known was pregnant, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office website.

Aren't we glad we signed Odrick...I see Merling getting cut if he is guilty.

Well I think this regime is falling way short of its no nonsense reputation... I think Merling is just fine, if guilty he is scum for even touching a woman regardless if she was pregnant or not. But his job will be intact.

He should be more worried about being beat out of his position, and he is going to blow his chance at getting the starting job. But there is plenty of competition for it...

Wait for more information before crapping in your pants guys. Remember Starks last year? Remember McMichael several years back? If we have learned anything it is that you need to wait for the facts to be presented before casting blame.

Wait for more information before crapping in your pants guys. Remember Starks last year? Remember McMichael several years back? If we have learned anything it is that you need to wait for the facts to be presented before casting blame.

I agree with your sentiment Phin. Still, this looks so bad for Phillip Merling, and why even put yourself in that situation to begin with.

I agree , somebody certainly has it in for the Miami Dolphins .... I mean this franchise , especially this regime would only have the utmost honorable guys on this team who can never do any wrong.And those who come here with a shady past .... all is wiped clean as soon as they put on the aqua & orange.

Wait for more information before crapping in your pants guys. Remember Starks last year? Remember McMichael several years back? If we have learned anything it is that you need to wait for the facts to be presented before casting blame.

I agree with your sentiment Phin. Still, this looks so bad for Phillip Merling, and why even put yourself in that situation to begin with.

Who says he put himself in any position? That's being judgmental without having any facts to back up your assertion. Randy McMichael was puking over a toilet while his pregnant girlfriend was slapping him in the head. He flailed his arm at her to get her to stop as he is throwing up and she claims abuse. It just goes to show that you can't always avoid trouble or predict where trouble will arise.

I agree , somebody certainly has it in for the Miami Dolphins .... I mean this franchise , especially this regime would only have the utmost honorable guys on this team who can never do any wrong.And those who come here with a shady past .... all is wiped clean as soon as they put on the aqua & orange.

Your sarcasm isn't lost on me, however if we have learned from the past, we know well that it pays to wait before casting stones. Supposedly Randy Starks tried running over a police officer last year and that turned out to be completely bogus, then this year Porter is accused of assaulting an officer and resisting arrest and the charges on that ended up being dropped. Lets just wait and see how it all shakes out before throwing the man to the wolves.

You may have a point but that is not likely to happen. Ideally people would react by saying that they hope the charges aren't true and that they regret this allegation has cast the team in a negative light. Then they would withhold comments about the player's guilt until after the court system had its time to measure out the case and make a judgment. Of course that won't likely happen......

Phin: Who on this thread is already casting blame on Merling? I see comments of "if" he is guilty of this charge he is scrum and such, so IMO, folks on here have been pretty civil in their reactions myself included.

Innocent until proven guilty, but I will say that "if" he did this, he is a moron with no respect for a woman, no matter how she may have been acting or "if" she provoked this situation, you just don't lay a hand on a woman period....no excuse whatsoever in my book.

My hope is that the situation was overblown and the charges get dropped as a best case scenario, but if he did, then he needs to man up and figure out a way to change himself from ever doing something like this again.

But I do agree with you that we need to reserve our ultimate judgement until the facts shake out. It is just unfortunate that Miami keeps having players with negative public headlines of late.

Phin: Who on this thread is already casting blame on Merling? I see comments of "if" he is guilty of this charge he is scrum and such, so IMO, folks on here have been pretty civil in their reactions myself included.

Innocent until proven guilty, but I will say that "if" he did this, he is a moron with no respect for a woman, no matter how she may have been acting or "if" she provoked this situation, you just don't lay a hand on a woman period....no excuse whatsoever in my book.

My hope is that the situation was overblown and the charges get dropped as a best case scenario, but if he did, then he needs to man up and figure out a way to change himself from ever doing something like this again.

But I do agree with you that we need to reserve our ultimate judgement until the facts shake out. It is just unfortunate that Miami keeps having players with negative public headlines of late.

See Rich's post aboveAlso, I am more or less referring to a tendency on these boards in regards to this kind of news, for many fans to jump to the assumption of guilt. I wasn't trying to make a big stand on what was said so far, but track record has forewarned me of what was likely to come if someone didn't say something in regards to reserving judgment. Call my post semi-preemptive, although as Rich said, the fourth post certainly smacked with assumed guilt.

I am more or less referring to a tendency on these boards in regards to this kind of news

Based on the overblown charges in the past couple of years, I think most of the guys on this forum are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Fantasy Football Mastermind wrote:

The Sun Sentinel reports the Miami Dolphins not only haven't banished DE Phillip Merling following Thursday's arrest for aggravated battery on his pregnant girlfriend, they haven't taken away the right defensive end's starting job. Merling is out on $15,000 bail. And his fellow defensive linemen showed their support at the end of Friday's practice, running interference for him by gathering in a circle to collectively take off their jerseys, then quickly scattering, which allowed Merling to disappear like Houdini. While he escaped questions about the incident that led to his arrest, Merling can expect a sit-down with HC Tony Sparano. Sparano said the team is working closely with the league, which could suspend Merling for violating the NFL's personal-conduct policy. A league official said the matter is being reviewed, and that the NFL has no further comment. "We're going to let the process play itself out and see what the league decides down the road," Sparano said. "There's a lot of facts out there right now, a lot of information, and a lot of assumptions. … I'm not a judge. I'm going to gather [information]. I'm going to sit down, visit with [Merling] and talk to him about my end of this thing, which I've done already." Sparano admitted there's a level of frustration with his players as four Dolphins have been arrested this offseason.

And his fellow defensive linemen showed their support at the end of Friday's practice, running interference for him by gathering in a circle to collectively take off their jerseys, then quickly scattering, which allowed Merling to disappear like Houdini.